Linear Alternator

A five-radial linear alternator, comprising:

• a radial arrangement of five cylinders around a common crankshaft, and configured such that mechanical input power can be applied to the crankshaft for conversion to electrical output power;
• wherein, each of the five cylinders is in itself a single linear alternator, comprising:
• a hollow cylinder configured with linear bearings at opposite ends, in which the bearings are aligned to be collinear with each other to float a single reciprocating shaft;
• a single file of annular-ring pickup coils coaxially disposed and supported in a row within each cylinder, wherein the annular-ring pickup coils are equally spaced and physically parallel to one another;
• a single reciprocating shaft suspended inside each cylinder at opposite ends by the linear bearings that align and position each corresponding shaft through the centers of each respective single file of annular-ring pickup coils;
• a head-to-toe row of permanent magnets collinearly arranged in totem-pole fashion on a middle length of each reciprocating shaft, wherein the interspacing of each group of neodymium permanent magnets is equal and matches the interspacings of the corresponding annular-ring pickup coils;
• and
• a linking rod for independently receiving a mechanical input power and a mechanism for stroking each single reciprocating shaft and each permanent magnet through its corresponding annular-ring pickup coils;
• wherein said mechanical input power is convertible to an electrical output power available in parallel from each of the annular-ring pickup coils.

A method for generating electrical power from a mechanical power input, comprising:

• arranging five linear alternators in an equal radial arrangement of 72-degrees around a single mechanical crankshaft, and each having a shaft able to reciprocate on linear bearings;
• linking each and all of the shafts of the five linear alternators to the single mechanical crankshaft to receive a reciprocating stroke that will be equally separated in phase by 72-degrees amongst one another to total 360-degrees of angle;
• mounting permanent magnets of equal number on each of the respective shafts such that an application of mechanical input power will cause them all to correspondingly reciprocate;
• positioning annular-ring pickup coils at fixed positions in which a corresponding magnet can shuttle back and forth during operation;
• independently rectifying the AC output of each annular-ring pickup coil;
• and
• summing the DC outputs into a single summation point following the step of independently rectifying the AC output of each annular-ring pickup coil;
• wherein, an electrical power output is made available for use from said summation point.